Hundreds in post-Christmas surge to Laois hospital as elderly patient waits over 24 hours for bed

Portlaoise hospital's manager has pleaded with people to seek alternatives to A&E as hundreds sought emergency department care in just four days as the HSE says the flu and Covid-19 are causing high attendances at hospitals in Laois, Naas, Tullamore, Mullingar and Tallaght.

The HSE confirmed to the Leinster Express / Laois Live that 537 people attended the Emergency Department (ED/A&E) from December 26 to 29.

The HSE's Urgent and Emergency Care - Hospital Status report as of 8am Monday, December 30 showed that nine patients were on trollies in the ED. No trollies were deployed on wards. The figure corresponds with INOU figures for Monday.

The HSE data also shows that an extra 23 inpatient beds were in operation temporarily to meet demand at 2 pm. There were five delayed transfers of people who no longer required care in the Laois hospital.  One patient aged 75 or over was waiting more than 24 hours for a bed.

John Joyce is General Manager at the Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise.

“The hospital has been extremely busy and staff have been working very hard to prioritise those most in need of care. Unfortunately, some patients are waiting long periods to be seen and we would like to apologise to those people. We would also ask people to consider alternative care options, going to your local pharmacy for minor illnesses, GPs in normal working hours or out-of-hours GPs where additional capacity has been added for patient care,” he said.

He added that there is a wide range of information on managing common illnesses like cold and flu available on www.undertheweather.ie

He said Injury Units in Nenagh, Naas and Mullingar can treat injuries such as broken bones, dislocations, sprains and strains, minor burns and scalds for all patients. He added that all units have access to x-ray and basic diagnostic services with more information at www.hse.ie/injuryunits

The situation in Portlaoise is mirrored at its sister hospitals in Dublin, Kildare, Offaly and Westmeath.  

The HSE Dublin and Midlands backed up the appeal advising that all acute hospitals within this region are experiencing a high number of patients with respiratory viral illnesses, such as influenza, RSV and Covid-19.

Apart from Portlaoise it says the hospitals affected are Naas General Hospital, Tallaght University Hospital, Regional Hospital Mullingar and Midland Regional Hospital Tullamore.

To reduce the spread of these illnesses, the HSE says some of the hospitals are implementing visiting restrictions. Just one visitor is allowed per patient at Portlaoise hospital.

The HSE says these measures will be lifted as soon as possible when clinical circumstances allow. Certain exceptions will be made by contacting ward staff in advance. For up-to-date guidelines on visiting patients, please visit: https://www2.hse.ie/services/disruptions/

The HSE Dublin and Midlands REO Kate Killeen White: “Hospitals are implementing visiting restrictions. In some cases there is only visiting on compassionate grounds or visiting is limited to 1/2 person per patient during normal visiting times. We are asking people to only visit patients at the hospital or other health care residential setting, like nursing homes, if you are symptom free from flu or other respiratory illness. Please visit the HSE website for specific information and regular updates.

"While hospitals are busy, staff are caring for many seriously ill patients all over the Christmas. We would ask patients with non-emergency conditions to seek assistance from other parts of the health service,” she said. MORE BELOW PICTURE.

She added that there are a range of care pathways available to patients who do not need emergency care including visiting your pharmacy for advice on common minor illnesses.

The HSE asked people to find out more at www.hse.ie/eng/services/list/2/pharmacy/

It also advises that if you urgently need to see a GP outside of normal hours, contact the local GP Out of Hours service – https://www2.hse.ie/services/find-urgent-emergency-care/